Tharizdun: Descent into Madness
by Kitamasu1
Summary: How did Tharizdun become the God of Madness? Sometimes it just takes a little nudge in the right direction.
1. Chapter 1: The Meeting

War. Conflict occurs naturally between those that are different from one another. This is true for mortals, as it is for the immortal. The Gods have been locked in endless battle with the Primordials, elemental beings of chaos. The Prime, The Fey, and The Shadowfell have remained stable for centuries, with neither Primordial nor God laying uncontested claim of the realms.

The gods, generals of the astral legions, have gathered for a war meeting in the sprawling city of Erathis's domain. Erathis has been on the receiving end of siege for centuries. Erathis, taking on the form of a young human woman in full silver platemail armor, glanced in the direction of a man with black hair and wearing black scale armor. "Bane, I request that you move your forces to fortify my city. ", said Erathis. She was met with a sneer and a shake of the head. "No can do. We can't afford to lose ground in the elemental chaos. The lose of your kingdom is the least of my concern."

A red devil was the next to speak. "Erathis, I have a few legions to spare. Give me control of the lower city and I'll fortify the outskirts." Bahamut, taking the form of a golden dragon shifted his head towards the map they had on the massive table. "Now is not the time to be selfish, Bane. There will be much time for glory in the times to come. We all have a common enemy, let us avoid unreasonable demands Asmodeus." The devil glared at the dragon, but bit his tongue.

A human with blonde locks and a great hammer touched Erathis on the arm. "I have some troops I can lend you. I just ask that they be on the front lines, they yearn for glory!" Erathis looked over her shoulder at the man, and smiled. "Thank you, Kord. This gesture will be remembered." She touches his hand on her arm, trying her best to convey how much this act of generosity was appreciated.

A tall man, standing 8 feet tall with brown skin stepped into the room. "Ah, Tharizdun, glad you could make it.", said Bahamut, craning his head over the man. "I'm sorry I am late, but I have found a weapon that very well may turn the tide." He brandished a blacker than black sword that seemed to draw light into its core and destroy it. Everyone in the room could sense a dark aura eminating from Tharizdun. "This sword speaks to me, and I'm sure you can all sense the power within it."

A pale woman with black hair shifted in her seat, a little unsettled. She sensed something "off" about the sword, but she couldn't figure out what it was. "Tharizdun, how exactly can that sword defeat the Primordials?" He smiled, "Raven, I shall destroy the elemental chaos by impaling the core of the realm! The sword has made me certain this will work."

The Raven Queen finally figured out what was wrong with the sword. There was no record of a weapon this powerful in the scrolls of fate. In fact, the power of the blade seemed almost impossible, but enough to destroy an entire realm? Tharizdun seemed delusional.

"You guys just need to distract the Primordials long enough for me to sneak into the elemental chaos and reach the core." A old man in robes was next to speak, "I sense a great evil eminating from the sword. Surely you feel it, Tharizdun. I believe it best if we study this artifact. Let me have the sword." Tharizdun's face became distorted with rage as he looked at Ioun.

"No one may touch my sword! I found it and it's mine!" This was quite the reaction from a god that embodied honor, justice, and law. The room itself appeared to recoil from the outburst, and nothing but silence filled the void. Tharizdun calmed down quickly, but made no apology. "Distract the Primordials and leave the rest to me." He walked out of the room and as soon as the door was shut Sehanine, a beautiful eladrin with purplish long hair, was the only one to speak; "The craziest plans are sometimes the most successful, right guys? If we're lucky this will be the greatest success of all."


	2. Chapter 2: The Quest

Tharizdun had marched through the elemental chaos for several centuries now. Reaching the core was significantly more difficult than he anticipated. The whisperings of the sword urged him onward, and began leaving it's mark. This man of upstanding values was now more brutal with his foes and showed no mercy. His magic amplified by the swords power now took on a blackish color. An aura of evil surrounded the god who was once good.

Tharizdun hadn't seen the other gods the entire time of his journey. He hoped they were well. He hoped his legions were being put to good use and didn't feel abandoned. Surely they would understand that his sacrifice was for the greater good. But what was good now? Morality blurred as what the sword deemed necessary became the most important thing to Tharizdun.

Finally having reached the core he was surprised to see a Primordial there. "Puny god! I've watched your progress from afar." The Primordial seemed to disappear and reappear directly in front of him. It was an elemental of air. "Your ideals have been forsaken. You slowly erode into nothingness. Your very being is fading." Tharizdun looked through the primordial and walked right through it. His mind set completely on the patch of land in the complete center of the elemental chaos.

Tharizdun was slowly lifted off the ground by gusts of wind and felt pressure applied to his throat. His body felt limp and immobile. "Ignore me again and I'll crush what's left of your being into dust!" He wasn't sure how he'd get past a Primordial, but he was certain the sword would be the key. The sword spoke to him once again, "Draw upon my power... I can free you."

The Primordial spoke again. "Your kind shall slowly die as the mortals forsake ideals and listen to their instincts." Tharizdun grit his teeth. Drawing power from the sword was difficult, even when it was willing. "Chaos shall rule the world for all time. Order is merely a comfortable idea mortals dream up to make sense out of the chaos." Tharizdun could now wiggle his fingers and toes now, he was almost there.

The Primordial suddenly set Tharizdun down. "You are ultimately meaningless. If I die here today another shall replace me. It's the way of things. It's inevitable." Tharizdun had heard enough, stabbing into the air and surging as much radiant power as he could into the blade as he could. The power was corrupted though, into a dark life draining power. The air cooled and a dark mist appeared to roll in. The Primordial had underestimated the power of Tharizdun, or perhaps it was truly the sword.


	3. Chapter 3: A New Evil Rises

Tharizdun walked forward 100 yards and the sword seemed to shout at him. "Here, stab here!" With sword held high in front of him, he dropped his arms in a swift downward thrust as the blade cut through the hard earth. Tharizdun had completed his quest, but he wasn't sure if it worked. The earth began changing, shaking, and splitting apart. He backed away but was swallowed into a large chasm that had now formed.

The sword was now falling, and Tharizdun made a choice that would alter his life forever. As he fell towards the sword he noticed that strange beings appeared in the chasm and were fighting. These strange creatures seemed to come from the very earth that was splitting apart. These creatures were demons. He witnessed the devouring of demons by other demons and it terrified him, but they seemed to ignore him. This place was unreasonable.

Tharizdun slowly caught up to the sword and upon grasping it something felt different. Suddenly a strong blast of psychic energy ripped through and shattered his mind. Slowly black tendrils enveloped him and devoured him. The sword had successfully completed it's goal. Where Tharizdun once was existed a completely different being. This being was around the size of an angel, but with wings of shadow, skin as grey as stone, and a purplish aura. The gods sensed the death of their ally, and they were gripped with sadness.

Many demons challenged this new being. Some were significantly bigger than it, but the end result was all the same. All the challengers were devoured. Then with a great roar, this being declared his lordship. This challenge was met when the lord of these demons rose up from deep down in the Abyss and challenged this young upstart. 

A deep voice boomed, "Who are you to declare yourself king of us? I'll squash you like the bug you are!" The lord of demons towered over the self-declared king, who simply smirked. "You may simply call me The Dark One." The lord laughed and smacked The Dark One down. "I am Beelzebub, and I shall kill you!"

The fight was short. Beelzebub had the upperhand for the majority of the fight, but grew angry as it seemed as though The Dark One was toying with him. "Fight like you mean it!" The Dark One knelt into a crouching position and launched his first offensive move of the encounter. He plunged his fist directly into the chest of the demon and ripped out the very essence of the demon.

Demons from around the Abyss watched in awe at this display of power. "Listen up you weaklings. Where I come from even the grubs could kill you!" This garnered angry hooting and hollering from the crowd that gathered, but none moved to challenge The Dark One. "I come from a realm where demons rule everything. I grew tired of fighting amongst ourselves and seek to devour new worlds. Go forth and destroy!" The demons all cheered and began pouring out of the Abyss into the elemental chaos.

The gods sensed a strange new presence, it was chaotic at the very core, but also pure evil. It felt like the same evil that the sword had around it. Erathis looked to Kord, as they were both in the fortress of her lower city. "I seems Tharizdun succeeded after all, but instead of ensuring our victory he has surely assured our demise." She cried into his shoulder as he embraced her. The angelic and devilish legions could barely handle the elementals... but now an even greater evil appeared.

A faint glimmer of hope was restored. The faint presence of Tharizdun appeared on the air waves. Vecna was the only god to notice, and he was determined to keep the knowledge secret. What strange development could a ressurected god provide... especially one that was now evil. Perhaps this would tip the balance between good and evil into evil's favor finally. Perhaps.


	4. Chapter 4: Revival

_**This is an experiment in first person writing. It seemed easier to express the insanity by putting you right inside his mind. The next chapter will be in the normal viewpoint.**_

What is life? Is it breathing air, drinking water, and eating food? Or is it fighting to survive and killing before you are killed? Perhaps it's merely existing as a consciousness, aware of yourself but not necessarily what is around you. This was the problem I now faced.

I was incredibly weak; quite an impressive feat for someone who had their mind unceremoniously shattered into a million pieces. I wasn't sure what this new presence was, perhaps I was alive after all. Perhaps the sword hadn't killed me. My last memory was grabbing the sword... and then a uniquely excruciating pain that also felt numb at the same time.

Yes, I'm alive. Slowly the darkness ebbed and the world around me came into focus. Shifting my vision downward I was met with nothing but the ground. "My legs! Where are my legs!" I shouted! I looked around quickly, panicking. I quickly gathered that this was my domain; it really needed redecorating. Everything seemed too orderly now.

I ran around searching for a mirror and when I finally came upon one I uttered out a scream. "I'm reduced to a floating cloud of gas!" I was positively freaking out now. How could I face my old colleagues like this? Perhaps I could avoid them for the next several millenium. Hmm, yes, or perhaps there's a more long term solution.

I glanced at a nearby wall... disgustingly ordinary. A few magical lights, a white stone wall, and blue trim. In fact, every wall in this horrid place was like this. Maybe I could use magic and redecorate.

With a mere thought I changed the walls to multi-color plad. Bright yellow, dark blue, light pink, blood red, and green the color of the grass in your neighbor's lawn. Now this was more my style! I changed the lights to strobe, and I changed the normal everyday large windows into jagged gaping holes in the wall.

I absolutely needed to change the shape of the castle though. It seemed to ordinary. The thought just came to me, and in an instant a massive explosion rang out in the distance. Floating to a window I looked at large and small pieces of earth flying through the air in every direction from a mile away. A particularly large chunk was flying right at the section of the castle I was in.

It was at this exact moment, as the castle rained down upon me as its defenses crumbled to falling earth, I realized everything I was thinking was becoming reality. "Aha!" I shouted as I imagined myself as a bugbear. "My old buddy Bahamut will surely be happy to see me. I can't wait to stir up hell like the old days! Slaughtering villages, cross-dressing, and issuing random commandments just to mess with our faithful!" I laughed incredibly hard, far more than I should have. Ah the good old days.

You know, the old days weren't really that great. They tried to take my sword from me! That glorious, powerful sword. They always held me back. It wasn't the sword that won the war, it was me! I destroyed the elemental chaos! I did all the work! I deserved praise. I deserve far more than that. I deserve to mount their heads throughout my castle. They deserve to die like I did! I'd be the one to slaughter them all.


	5. Chapter 5: Celebration of the Gods

Tharizdun called upon messengers to announce a house party to the other gods. 19 lesser demons heeded his call, it appears as though the angels of his past are no longer. Tharizdun has been thoroughly corrupted by his time with the sword, and his death. Though he would not understand how he was changed, the very nature of his being was changed. In past he was virtuous, embodied honor and justice, and law, but now he embodied pure chaos. He was not necessarily malevolent, but morals were no longer in the equation.

The gods all answered the call. Corellon was the first to speak, taking the form of an elf wearing leather armor. "How are you alive? We all sensed your death. How long have you... been resurrected?" Tharizdun smiled at the question. "I'm about as certain of this as you are, my dear friends. But I've been... conscious for two centuries." Vecna, taking the form of a lich in black robes with blood red trim was the next to speak. "I sensed your life force five hundred years ago. It was faint, but it was distinctly what you have become." Tharizdun's mouth twitched slightly at this.

"I've called you all here for a very important reason. We must celebrate our ultimate victory of the destruction of the elemental chaos!" With that wine bottles appeared pouring their contents into glasses that all floated around each of the gods. Melora, in the form of a werebear, was the first to take a drink. She fancied herself dry red wine. She seemed a bit puzzled though, "The Primordial's still live. The elemental chaos has fallen into ruin thanks in part to the demons. The Primordials now fight simply to survive against the ravenous hordes of demons that have invaded their realm."

"You mean, I didn't destroy the elemental chaos... I merely weakened it?" His eye twitched this time. A big chunk of what had made him amenable to meeting the gods instead of hunting them down one by one was he felt they owed him a celebration of his victory. "You fools! You have squandered the gift my death provided! Now it's all... it was all for nothing!" Moradin in the form of a dwarf with a beard as black as soot was the next to speak. "Now ya' listen here! We ain't squandered nothin'! Yer sword brought upon the ultimate embodiment of chaos; demons! You were a fool ta' think you could do it alone."

Tharizdun remained completely calm externally, but mentally he was losing his grasp on reality. His preconceived ideas about himself were all wrong. He brought about ultimate chaos, but did it even matter. The gods were in charge. He could be in charge. The Primordial's no longer mattered, they were merely inconvenient. The ravings of a mad man often include delusions of grandeur, and Tharizdun was certainly mad.

Tharizdun finally centered his thoughts. The party was off. There was nothing more to celebrate, but he could still have his own personal celebration; one that included drinking the blood of his friends and ushering in a new age. Mortals beware, the age of Tharizdun was imminent. The last spark of sanity in Tharizdun reached out to his friends, "Run you fools!", but it was too late. The powder keg that was his mind was lit, and an explosion of activity occurred.

Avandra, in the form of a human in a traveling cloak was the first to be hit by a blast of pure magic. She was thrown back into a wall, and the other gods were all blasted backward. Tharizdun was beyond speaking now, his thoughts were running far faster than his mouth would be able to translate. He was beyond reason. Vecna was the first to recover, and he used a spell to teleport back to his domain. This Tharizdun could not be controlled like he had hoped. Tharizdun was too volatile, not even being able to remain civil for a party!

Asmodeus drew a magical rapier and flew on his devilish wings. A bolt of lightning struck him in the chest, causing him to drop his blade and plummet out of the air. What power was this? How could Tharizdun channel so much energy into his spells, and not even require a movement or utterance of an incantation? It seemed unreal. The gods retreated without saying much. What they needed to do was obvious, they needed to regroup and discuss how they would deal with Tharizdun. They did just that in Bahamut's domain.

A floating castle in the sky. It was quite a sight to see, but the gods were not here for sightseeing. They were here to formulate a plan. The discussions were heated; some gods were in favor of killing Tharizdun, while others still clung to their past friendship. It was difficult for them to see the monster he had become. It was simply too erratic, but also incredibly powerful. Compromise was not something that came naturally to gods, but they eventually settled on the course of action that suited everyone's best interests. They would imprison Tharizdun in a pocket dimension away from everyone, and he would be guarded by thirteen legions of angels and devils. They would erase all record of Tharizdun from the mortal realm, and Bahamut would gain the attributes of honor and justice, and Erathis would gain the attribute of law. The evil gods were not happy with the solution, but they needed a speedy resolution or be hunted down.

The gods dismissed the meeting and retreated to their individual domains for a short respite. The coming darkness was frightening to them all. There was no guarantee they would all survive. The only things the gods were certain of was their conviction. Their only hope is that Tharizdun is easy to trick.


	6. Chapter 6: Victory

Moradin put astral essence to the forge, preparing it for the focus of the god's plans. They would bind Tharizdun into a physical body, and in theory his power would be reduced. He would no longer be able to change shape at will, it would be as if he were stuck in a mortal aspect permanently. Moradin had already crafted the golem to house the spirit of Tharizdun; the last piece required was also the most complex, a soulstone. This soulstone must be of adequate capacity to house the essence Tharizdun now possessed. Prior to his death, this would have been easy. His power was measurable, but in his current state the potential seemed boundless.

The mortal realm was feeling the effects of Tharizdun's presence in the astral plane. Conflicts across the realm have broken out, and reason and logic have given way to fear and xenophobia. Spirits are now doomed to restlessness as the connection to the Shadowfell has become strained and in threat of being severed. They Feywild is beginning to overlap into mortal realm causing animals to seemingly go insane and fey creatures were now able to cross over, fueling more xenophobia. If things weren't resolved quickly the world would be engulfed in fire.

Sweat traveled down Moradin's face as he marveled at the small gem his hammer blows had created. It was shiny, and roughly the size of an apple. He gripped it in his hand and grinned. The gem was the most difficult thing he ever created, but it was also the most valuable. He believed this gem would be the savior of the gods.

The gods gathered in a brief meeting, hashing out the details of their plan to imprison Tharizdun. They would first lure him to the Elemental Chaos, where they cared little what destruction occurred. Binding his essence into the soulstone that Moradin had created was the most crucial and most difficult aspect of this plan. So much hinged on ritual, and several gods would have to channel all of their power. Much trust was being placed in selfish beings who thought only for themselves, but the raving lunatic that was Tharizdun was equally dangerous to them all.

The next phase of the plan was easy; simply place the soulstone in the golem that Moradin created. The final phase was opening a pocket dimension somewhere far away from the other planes and chaining the golem to the new domain of Tharizdun. By placing Tharizdun far away it would reduce the influence he would have on the natural realm. Logic and reason would again be at the forefront.

The time had come; Moradin, Bahamut, The Raven Queen, Asmodeus, and Vecna and Ioun all gathered in Bahamut's domain. They would be the ones to lure Tharizdun to his doom. The other 13 gods were positioned in the Elemental Chaos preparing the pocket dimension and the ritual of binding. The golem stood motionlessly a short distance away, waiting for it's use.

Tharizdun appeared in Bahamut's domain, sensing a large gathering. Apparently he wasn't too focused on the Elemental Chaos. Tharizdun was quiet for a being looking like a bugbear, he was beyond speaking to them now. A fireball aimed directly at the mass of the gods flew, but with a gesture Ioun and Vecna fizzled the spell just as it was about to reach it's impact site. Tharizdun thought of a bolt of lightning, and it was so, though Asmodeus dodged out of the way.

The gods fell back against the relentless striking of Tharizdun. They made their way for the bridge into the elemental chaos and another several miles would be their destination. Tharizdun had a smile upon his face the entire time, seemingly enjoying toying with his friends. He didn't hate them, they simply had to die.

Tharizdun leaped a great distance and slammed his fist into the ground in which the gods had occupied a moment before. A great fissure opened up beneath the gods, and Tharizdun was the first to fall in. Bahamut opened his great golden wings and plummeted down to catch Asmodeus and The Raven Queen who had fallen the furthest into the pit. Moradin, Vecna, and Ioun had all managed to grip the sides of the fissure, preventing their fall. The gods all looked down into the gigantic chasm, looking for a sign of Tharizdun. "I still sense him; he's alive. No surprise there." Ioun shrugged, he could hope it would be that easy.

The gods saw Tharizdun leap once again, this time high into the sky. The chase was still on, and it would be everything they could do to make sure they all made it out of this alive. Tharizdun was no foe to underestimate, and any power conceivable was his so long as he could believe it.

A short distance away from the small group of gods was the bulk of the gods. They finished the pocket dimension, and they were finishing up the preparations for the binding ritual. At the center of a large circle was the focus of the ritual. If they could usher Tharizdun into the center of the circle he would be bound much more quickly than if his location were outside the circle. The gods did much chanting, hand gestures, and many items were used in the process. The soulstone was in the dead center of the ritual, and magic was visibly being drawn into it from the gods.

Tharizdun had finally chased the gods to the site of their ritual. He summoned a great tornado of fire that whipped across Bahamut, scarring his wings and belly. Necrotic lightning struck Melora, Pelor, and Ioun. The gods now struck back at him. The Raven Queen shot forth lances of ice, Pelor channeled forth several fireballs in quick succession, and Torog lashed out with ethereal chains. Tharizdun attempted to avoid it all, but the ethereal chains latched hold and began dragging him into the center.

Bane bashed Tharizdun in the head with his shield, Bahamut breathed a great deal of flame onto the ground around Tharizdun, and Ioun generated a shield barrier around him to trap Tharizdun inside. Vecna, with his evil ways attempted to drain power from Tharizdun to both help the fight and also bolster his own strength. With Tharizdun both stunned and trapped in the center of the ritual circle, the gods began chanting and their voices boomed across the landscape. Tharizdun rocked back and forth as their voices cascaded against him and slowly his very being was being absorbed by the soulstone.

Tharizdun glanced in the direction of the soulstone, and Vecna applied much greater amount of draining pressure to him. Tharizdun was powerless to prevent his absorption, and his voice seemed much deeper than normal; "Noooooo!" With a sudden flash the soulstone rose from it's holder and absorbed the remainder of Tharizdun.

Tiamat was the first to speak; "Quick, Moradin, place the stone in your golem!" Moradin rushed and grabbed the stone. Running to the golem he slid it into place and the golem slowly glowed with magical power. It came to life, but as expected the golem wasn't able to move very quickly at first. "Now, teleport him into the dimension!" shouted Melora who was exhausted.

Vecna focused his magic on the golem, attempting to drain even more power from Tharizdun as he could. The gods chanting was quick, and a hole was ripped into the sky. Moradin, with all his strength lifted his creation and threw it into the portal. They had done it! Tharizdun had been defeated! The gods no longer had to fear assassination.

Vecna dropped to the ground, exhausted from his magic, but he was quickly helped up to his feet by Ioun. The gods exchanged pleasantries for a brief time before returning to their domains. This was the most difficult thing the gods will ever accomplish, and mortals won't ever know of it.


End file.
